Category: Environment

Air pollution is an unseen menace that poses a major threat to human health and the climate. We have created the air quality stripes, a visual tool that captures global air pollution trends, to bring this hidden threat into sharp focus. Inspired by professor of climate science Ed Hawkins’ climate warming stripes, the air quality… Continue reading How air quality has changed in over 100 countries around the world since 1850

The idea that sending less emails would have a significant impact on the environment was popularised by the book ‘How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything.’ This, released in 2020, was by Professor Mike Berners-Lee, a respected authority on the topic.  Professor Berners-Lee mentioned that every email creates something from 0.3 to 50… Continue reading Are emails bad for the planet?

Why we might owe a quiet thank you to Jeremy Clarkson’s unlikely rural revolution It’s the annual Battle of Ideas Festival, holding its 20th weekend sessions at the Church House, Westminster, and resigned Labour MP Rosie Duffield points to the new government neglecting farmers, desperately crying out for their escape from the controversial inheritance tax,… Continue reading The UK Farms’ Economic Slow Burn

Note: hay fever has no connection to hay. In the 1800s, people believed freshly cut hay caused it, hence the name. The true cause—pollen—was discovered in 1859 by British scientist Charles Blackley. Climate change affects not only the health of the planet but also that of people, worsening conditions such as hay fever, formally known… Continue reading Climate change is making hay fever worse

Cape Town, South Africa, known for its great white sharks, is facing a new threat: rabid seals. In a significant outbreak, 11 seals have been found with rabies, marking the first major occurrence of the disease among marine mammals. The World Health Organization estimates rabies kills 55,000 people annually, mainly in Africa and Asia, with… Continue reading Rabies outbreak among seals in Cape Town sparks concern

The COVID-19 pandemic’s rapid onset led to immediate reductions in travel and economic activities worldwide, drastically lowering air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions within weeks. This abrupt change provided scientists with a rare opportunity to observe outcomes typically achieved over years of regulation. A comprehensive new study, utilizing satellite data from NASA and other international… Continue reading Pandemic emission reductions led to unexpected atmospheric effects

A recent study by the School of the Environment at Queensland University in Australia found that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off the country’s eastern coast experienced significantly lower stress levels and better overall health during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic due to the reduction of human activity in the ocean during this period.… Continue reading Reduced human activity during early Covid pandemic lowered stress levels in whales

Carbon dioxide is often highlighted in discussions about climate change, but methane is a more potent greenhouse gas, trapping 28 times more heat per molecule than CO2, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Recent reports and scientific papers have underscored the significant impact of animal production on climate change. Denmark has become the first… Continue reading Denmark to tax cows, sheep and pigs for emitting methane

Scientists have observed wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) consuming plants that have anti-bacterial and pain-relieving properties to heal themselves. They conducted detective work in the forests of Uganda, studying injured or sick animals and gathering evidence to construct a case. There were 13 members of the team who were botanists, ecologists, ethnopharmacologists, parasitologists and primatologists.… Continue reading Chimpanzees Use Plants as Medicine: A Breakthrough in Animal Behaviour and Pharmacology